Movie Review: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

All of you readers out there: how often is it that you go see the movie version of a book you've read (and liked) and leave the theatre thinking, "Wow, that was great?" 

I don't know about you, but that is not a common occurrence for me.  What is even more rare is enjoying the book better because of the movie.  But that is exactly what happened when I walked out of the theatre after seeing The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. 

I had mixed feelings about that book.  I like it, liked the story, but I wasn't crazy about the writing.  I didn't connect to the characters as much as I would have liked.  If you had a similar experience with this book, then you need to see the movie as well.  Because there are some things that have to be seen and not read.

There are some pretty intense things that happen in the book, mostly to Lisbeth Salander.  Lisbeth is a really unique character, but I had problems connecting with her because she seemed like an automatron a lot of the time.  As a result, I read these intense scenes with kind of a detached attitude.  The movie makes that impossible.  Seeing what happens to Lisbeth in such graphic detail really enhanced her character for me.

Also, the movie (it is a Swedish production, so subtitled in the U.S.) does an excellent job of sticking to the book.  Sure, there are things that are omitted and changed, but nothing that detracts from the story.  And all the important details are still there, I think.  Because they got that right, the movie ends up being a wonderful complement to the book.  Honestly, I think you need to see the movie to fully appreciate the book.

What pissed me off, though, are the rumors that Hollywood is going to do a version of the story.  There is even an imdb entry that has Carey Mulligen rumored to be playing Lisbeth Salander. 

No.  No, no, no.  That is just wrong.  WTF, Hollywood?  Lainey over at Lainey Gossip put it best.  Just leave it alone, Hollywood.  The Swedes already did it, and they knocked it out of the park.